Davide Canovai is 16 years old, made last October, he lives in Florence in the Rifredi neighborhood, he has been practicing karate since he was 5 and he attends the Michelangelo Classical High School with excellent results.

Tell us about your last European championship experience.

In our amateur sports association "Martial Arts Florence" we were called into the national team in two: me and Lorenzo Marchetti, the current Italian Karate Champion for his category, who, in Romania, won the bronze medal.

On site I was chosen to be part of the fighting team that represented our nation; so I participated in two competitions, individual and team, succeeding in portal both success.

At the same time, this has meant having crowned a long series of commitments and efforts, ever since I was a child, and having become aware that many other challenges will arise and must be addressed openly.

For years you have been dedicating yourself constantly to the sport of karate, what fascinates you about this sport?

Karate, like few other sports, is characterized by being a complete sport as it develops all the conditional skills, with particular emphasis on coordination skills. The fact that it is a truly complete sport has important positive effects in terms of physical and mental well-being.

How do karate lessons take place?

The karate lessons focus on the study of the kata, which consists of a sequence of pre-established techniques, in our style, the shotokan, there are 26 of them and, among other things, they are fundamental for passing grade. Then, during training, we do khion, which is the exercise of individual techniques, and kumite, which is combat, proper.

This is the specialization I prefer. Indeed, during the practice of combat, values ​​such as loyalty, courage and the spirit of sacrifice develop and express themselves most. I would like to point out that, among sports, martial arts are characterized by expressing themselves through simulation (in the sense that there are rules aimed at protecting the athlete's safety) of a direct physical confrontation, with exchanges of beatings, knockdowns, etc.

From your words martial arts would seem to be more than a sport, can you explain better?

As I said, fighting requires a tough confrontation with an opponent, but confronting means not only prevailing over the other, it also means relating to and relating to the opponent; to do this it is necessary to know who is in front of us, but, for this to be possible, it is essential to know oneself.

Fighting is a great job of introspection . Furthermore, doing kumite, in karate, necessarily requires the development of a strong self-control and the ability to overcome ancient fears, such as being "beaten", this in life translates into the ability to manage one's negative emotions and courage to make choices that may initially seem too demanding.

We know that you are an excellent student, how is it possible to combine competitive sport with study?

As I have already said, if a right dose of courage is developed, it is possible to make choices that, apparently, seem very difficult; I decided to face the difficulties arising from reconciling the severe commitment of high school and competitive sports with enthusiasm, not listening to the fears that told me it would not be possible.

Where do you practice? Can you talk about your sporting group?

I train with the amateur association "Martial Arts in Florence", in the gym located in Via Fracastoro. The sports facility has recently opened, about two years, and is equipped with all the comforts and equipment necessary to carry out this activity.

My teacher is Enrico Vivoli, who is assisted by Gianni Spera. Thanks to their continuous efforts in recent years, a close-knit group of practicing athletes has formed, among which motions successfully participate in competitions.